[2017 Super Rugby] Round 11: Cheetahs vs. Highlanders (05/05/2017)

[TRF_heineken]

Venue: Toyota Stadium
Time: 19:00 CAT (SA, GMT+2)​

Teams

Cheetahs: 15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 Sergeal Petersen, 13 Francois Venter (captain), 12 William Small-Smith, 11 Raymond Rhule, 10 Fred Zeilinga, 9 Tian Meyer, 8 Henco Venter, 7 Oupa Mohoje, 6 Paul Schoeman, 5 Francois Uys, 4 Carl Wegner, 3 Johan Coetzee, 2 Torsten van Jaarsveld, 1 Ox Nche

Substitutes: 16 Elandre Huggett,17 Charles Marais, 18 Tom Botha, 19 Armandt Koster, 20 Uzair Cassiem, 21 Niell Jordaan, 22 Shaun Venter, 23 Niel Marais

Highlanders: 15 Matt Faddes, 14 Waisake Naholo, 13 Malakai Fekitoa, 12 Rob Thompson, 11 Patrick Osborne, 10 Marty Banks, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Luke Whitelock (co-captain), 7 Dillon Hunt, 6 Liam Squire, 5 Tom Franklin, 4 Joe Wheeler, 3 Siosuia Halanukonuka, 2 Liam Coltman, 1 Daniel Lienert-Brown

Substitutes: 16 Ash Dixon (co-captain), 17 Aki Seiuli, 18 Siate Tokolahi, 19 Elliot Dixon, 20 Gareth Evans, 21 Kayne Hammington, 22 Fletcher Smith, 23 Richard Buckman

 

[Kiwiwomble]

A good squad for us, faddes is good cover for smith

 

[TRF_heineken]

A better looking Cheetahs side than what played against the Crusaders. The return of Sergeal Pietersen and Ox Nche as well as Fred Zeilinga will be a boost for the Cheetahs.

 

[Bluemoon]

I can't decide whether I've witnessed two awful defensive performances or whether the attacking rugby has just been that good. I'm going more with the former, but its made for entertaining viewing.

 

[Gavin]

That was quite unbelievable. 21 points scored by the Highlanders in the last 5 minutes to snatch it from the Cheetahs. Unreal.

 

[Durbanite]

How disappointing, I feel if the Cheetahs deserved a win it would be this one. Such a shame they couldn't keep it together, NZ sides just refuse to stay down darn it

 

[Penne Rara]

WTF

 

[Cruz_del_Sur]

What.a.game!

 

[Ground We Won]

Spectacular ending from the Highlanders and much deserved after some really dodgy officiating. I don't think compatriots should referee in the home games. The Matt Faddes yellow card was disgraceful and the Cheetahs last try a player turned the ball over off his feet right in front of the referee. Clearly biased.

The Cheaters played really well, scored some nice tries but the Highlanders would match that and score better. One of the best watches of the season. 21 unanswered points in 5 minutes is ridiculous. That Highlanders team has a lot of heart.

 

[Penne Rara]

Kudos to the Landers for their relentlessness, I was proud of them for what they achieved during the last 5 minutes.

However, I wouldn't call the Cheetahs "Cheaters", that's utterly disrespectful. They played with abnegation and showed more grit than the Stormers for example.

I don't know if the ref was biased or not. For me, that was just a really bad display of refereeing, as both teams were handicapped by his decisions. He never questioned Li's try when it clearly seems that Faddes' pass is forward. His decisions were debatable whether they favored the Cheetahs or the Highlanders.

 

[galumay]

Well that will be one of the games of the season I reckon, brilliant rugby by the Cheetahs but out done by the Landers who stormed home despite the YC's. A hugely entertaining game. Once again the NZ sides just showing that if you never die and keep playing for 80+ minutes then its just about possible to win any game.

I cant agree with you about the refereeing GWW, like any game there are decisions you can debate, but obviously the refs are not biased, thats an incredible insult to professionals - to even suggest that elite refs are biased is a really cheap shot.

 

[Ground We Won]

Clearly forward? There was nothing clear about that, it looked more back than anything if you look at the lines on the park. What was clear though is the Cheatahs players ran into Faddes literally 0.5 seconds after the ball left his hand he got sent off for standing his ground? That's pathetic officiating and so was the officiating allowing the Cheetahs player to take the ball illegal from the side and off his feet which lead to their final try. The referee was standing right there and looking at the breakdown.

but obviously the refs are not biased, thats an incredible insult to professionals - to even suggest that elite refs are biased is a really cheap shot.

I don't even know what to say to that.

 

[Penne Rara]

@Ground We Won:

There are lots of things happening on a rugby field. The referee has to take every element he sees into account and rule accordingly. He cannot ignore what's being given to him. But you have to understand that there will always be events that he will never witness during the game. Those that are reported to him, though, have to be dealt with, and the rulings are almost always fair.

Bear in mind that a referee is an enforcer, his job is to ease the game, not to favor one team or the other in a biased manner. The rules of rugby hold that a team may get an advantage from the opposition's foul plays. A referee does just that: He/she makes sure that this principle is applied to the right extent. But a ref is still a human being, and depending on the situation, his calls might seem a bit unfair.

However, while we can discuss their decisions, we may not question their integrity. This is the reason why they officiate. It's up to Rugby federations and institutions to decide whether they have done a good job or not. Even though we may not agree with the rulings, we have to respect them. "Rugby is not tiddlywinks" a man once said. "Rugby is not soccer" either, I dare say.

 

[Ground We Won]

I don't need extended explanations to the bad officiating I witness. It simply comes down to competence and reliability. As you said, they are human and humans are very vulnerable to operating biased subconsciously or not. The referee today was either incompetent or biased, or both. There's no need for long winded explanations excusing the obvious.

 

[Penne Rara]

Alright. But to call him (or the opposition team) a cheater? That's a stretch. And you have to recognize that while you accuse the ref of being biased, you aren't the most objective being on earth either.

 

[Ground We Won]

Alright. But to call him (or the opposition team) a cheater? That's a stretch. And you have to recognize that while you accuse the ref of being biased, you aren't the most objective being on earth either.

It was just a play on their name, don't be so sensitive.

Another example of todays abysmal officiating performance was the obstruction and tackle without the ball a few phases before the try on Aaron Smith from the Cheetahs #4 on their try that took it from 22 to 29. The referee once again looking right at it, ignored it. The ball was clearly out of the ruck and Aaron Smith had a chance to make the tackle, but #4 clearly came in and took him out.

But that's enough complaining. I just want to see the standard of officiating improve. Having this safe space culture dismissing critical opinions and analysis of the officiating like galaumy is suggesting doesn't help anything, it just allows incompetence to go unrecognized, unquestioned and unchallenged. Way to make the already low standards even worse.

 

[galumay]

Having this safe space culture dismissing critical opinions and analysis of the officiating, like galaumy is suggesting doesn't help anything

Please dont strawman me, thats not the point I was suggesting at all. You have accused referees of being biased, which is tantamount to calling them cheats. Its an appalling sleight on professional, elite referees that is completely unwarranted. Thats what I called you out on.

I totally agree that we should discuss refereeing decisions and any constructive critisism that improves the standard is desirable. As a qualified referee and ex player I reckon the standard is very high overall, refs are human and do make mistakes, they are also working in real time, and only rarely have the benefit of slo mo replays.

I see a lot of the same attributes in arm chair refs as i do in couch coaches - a lot of psychological biases at play!

 

[Penne Rara]

Dialogue and positive feedback/criticism (positive as in "helpful") is going to improve these standards. Insults will only make everyone unhappy to play and watch rugby. That being said, I think Galumay and I made ourselves clear on "bias". Now whatever you think about that is only up to your own interpretation.

 

[Ground We Won]

For the Cheetahs yellow card, the referee was looking right at the tackler and didn't even call it as a high tackle. He was literally 2 metres from the tackle and looking right at the play and he called it a knock-on advantage for the Cheetahs. It was only until the Highlanders contested and demanded he went upstairs that it was reviewed. Even then he basically demanded from the TMO that it was only "just a penalty" and it wasn't until the TMO demanded him to give a yellow that the Cheetahs player was sent off.

Not only that the Cheetahs committed a deliberate knock down, and 2 professional fouls before the Highlanders went over the line to make it 41-29, no yellow cards or warnings.

I rest my case.

 

[Caitlyn Jenner]

Shout out to Matt Faddes for copping the softest yellow card I can remember seeing lol. That was a joke.

Very entertaining game though... Cheetahs played good rugby, Highlanders weren't clinical but showed their usual fight and X-Factor, and one of the craziest finishes I've seen.

I do think the reffing was dodgy at times (especially that Faddes card), but that's the way it goes sometimes, the ref will be better off for the experience I think.